everything, everthing

away

❁

i ran.

that was the only logical thing that came into my mind. so i ran. my feet touching the cool grass after the morning dew had covered it, my lungs breathing in fresh air something i thought i would never smell again.

my heart ached. as i ran my heart pounded thinking about how i could be running into farkle's arms right now. but he's gone. i'll never see him again. i have no clue where he is but all i know is that he's still in california but that's about it. isadora won't budge when i asked, but i deserved it.

so i kept running. running away from my problems until my feet found themselves somewhere safe.

-

my ears soaked in the smooth sound of jazz playing in the house i stood outside of. hands shaking, i rung the doorbell only frightened to what his reaction would be.

"coming!" the voice from inside sang. what felt like years was only moments before he opened the wooden door.

"listen, i already bought four boxes of thin mints and unless you have savannah smiles-" the voice trailed off realizing who he was talking to.

"hi shawn," i whispered.

"m-maya? what are you going here? you could get sick, come inside," he motioned for me to enter but i shook my head.

"i'm not sick," i smiled.

shawn stood there, a look of confusion covering his face. i entered his house, the aroma of a rose candle wafting my nose. we sat down with a cup of tea and i explained to him my discovery and confrontation with mom.

it must have hurt him. knowing that the woman he loved most in the world lied to him for over ten years. we sat in silence for a solid fifteen minutes before he broke it.

"i'm going to talk with your mother. for now, you'll live with me. i know this place isn't much, but it's home. we can go collect your things tomorrow morning," he kissed my head and left to his bedroom.

my eyes roamed around the newly furnished living room and the pictures shawn put up. he was an amateur photographer before he became a nurse.

i saw photos of me, mom and shawn. so many of them lining the walls. there were a couple of riley and lucas as well. but there was one i never saw before. me and farkle.

it was a photo the two of us took in paris, standing in front of the eiffel tower. i smiled remembering how farkle had struggled to ask a stranger in french if he would take a photo for us. his french was still attractive to me. my fingers glided over the cool glass, reminiscing on the good days. we were smiling ear to ear and farkle's hand was securely around my waist.

i walked over to shawn's room and knocked softly. i heard a little "come in" and sat on a stool near him.

"shawn," i began. "where did you get that picture of me and farkle?"

his eyes turned to a smile. "i hope you don't mind that i put that up." he ran his fingers through his hair before continuing.

"farkle gave that to me. the day he left with his mom and sister, they visited me for a moment. he explained to me all of the memories the two of you shared in paris and how he wished he could hold you in his arms. he gave me that photo along with a disposable camera that he never took the time to develop."

my eyes watered hearing that farkle was here. he cared so much that he personally went to shawn's just so that i could get the pictures one day.

"he loved you a lot maya,"

"and i love him," i cried.

❁